2 queries -preparatory bombardment and assaulting BUA’s

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  • September 13, 2021 at 3:55 pm #186234
    Peter
    Participant

    guys how many of you use pre battle barrage in BP and if so what mechanisms to ye use to do it.

     

    I have gamed several battles and noticed that unless a BUA is made a mandatory objective from the start then opponents tend to try by pass them rather than take them. Historically they were assaulted so enemy strongpoints weren’t left in your rear area during a battle. So battles will require a back story whether they be historical or not otherwise for example at Ligny the French will try and ignore the Prussian held villages and funnel by them to get behind them.

    • This topic was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by Peter.
    September 14, 2021 at 8:17 am #186240
    Nat
    Participant

    Well outside of a siege prepapatory bombardments wouldnt really be more than a free round of shooting from the artillery (if in range)…. if your using the skipping shells rules from Clash of Eagles (& I think Albion 2) then I could see a use for it.

    FIBUA, this is always hard to get right with abstract rules…by that I mean the risk /reward factor in balance to a turn based game with a fiexed number of turns.  Personally I feel that If you are wanting to do a village assault then Black Powder probably ISNT the ruleset.  After all that one building is (as per the rules) not a single building but a group of buildings anyway.

    September 14, 2021 at 10:12 am #186241
    Charge The Guns
    Participant

    Hi Peter,

    On the preparatory bombardment; we have used some pre-game random roles to potentially add some stamina losses to units considered to have been under a preparatory bombardment.  e.g. roll a D6 for each unit, on a roll of 5 or 6 then lose 1 stamina.

    On BUAs. These are difficult to take in BP, as I think they should be.  We have found that, if you are going to take a BUA then ideally you need artillery, to soften up the defenders, and then 3:1 odds (i.e. attack from three sides) to try and beat the defenders. This feels right to us.  BUA can form bulwarks in your line.  Then enemy can bypass them, but if your defence is well positioned then they should have to take the BUA first.  Consider Waterloo as the classic.  The French bypassed La Haye Saint in D’Erlorn’s attack, but later decided they had to “take the farm house” which they did.  After this they were able to bring up guns close to the ridge and the Allies suffered some of their worse loses after this point.

    Perhaps, in a game, if the attacker is bypassing BUAs then they have found the defence isn’t dependant on the BUA.  For example, consider a ridge line with a BAU at each end.  They will be a tough position to crack head on.  If you can take one of the BUA, then you have a good chance of turning the defensive line of the ridge.  If there is another  BUA no connected with the ridge line, and the defender places troops in it, then the attacker can consider this to their advantage; troops wasted from the real defence.  Never hold a BUA purely because it is there – only if it helps your overall plan.

    Hope this helps?

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